Father Koch: The challenge of navigating belief in an unbelieving world
November 22, 2024 at 12:00 a.m.
Gospel reflection for Nov. 24, 2024, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
The Jewish people in the first century lived in the tension between the observance of their distinct religious traditions and navigating that within the diverse and often intolerant Roman world. Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect in Jerusalem during the ministry of Jesus, often stumbled trying to navigate this tension. In his interrogation of Jesus his desire to understand Jesus is clouded by the disdain of the Jewish authorities for Jesus as well as his lack of appreciation for the Jewish culture. A very similar dynamic is at work in the world today for the followers of Jesus, one that we must be conscious of as we try to evangelize the world.
The tension between our Christian and at times specifically Catholic moral and social conscience and the ever-evolving mores of contemporary society can leave us feeling out of step. The question that each one of us asks ourselves is whether we are a step ahead or a step behind.
From the time of the Alexandrian conquest of the Jewish lands in the fourth century until the present, the Jewish people found this struggle to maintain their culture and unique religious practice and belief to be at times overwhelming. They rebelled against the Seleucids and won, but it was a short-term victory. They rebelled against the Romans and were afflicted with an exile that lasted well over a millennium after the Roman Empire itself was remembered only from its past glory. Sadly, through much of the medieval and modern periods of history the Christian and specifically Catholic churches treated the Jewish people harshly and with much contempt.
When Jesus stands as a man before Pontius Pilate, the Roman is well-aware that the Jewish people were inclined to foment violence against them. Not by any means an expert in the Scriptures, he was at least made aware of the messianic hopes and expectations among the people. Messiah meant rebellion; it meant an effort to reestablish a distant kingdom, one that had not existed for some 600 years.
Could this Jesus, dragged into his residence by his fellow Jews be the Messiah? How could he? He made no stately appearance, bore no arms, and seemed more a religious threat than a political one. The Romans cared little for Jewish religious matters and granted them many freedoms to practice throughout the world.
So what was the problem with this Jesus? Who was he, and why should Pilate care?
Pilate seems to be curious about Jesus. Even in his disheveled condition, he was a formidable figure. Jesus has attracted crowds, made the Jewish officials uncomfortable, and was at least known to some of the Roman guards and residents of the city. Jesus had healed the son of a centurion, so word of this must have spread through the Roman cohort.
The focus of the conversation between Jesus and Pilate is over the assertions that Jesus is a king. Jesus was coy in answering the question, giving nod to his kingship while at the same time noting the reality that there are no armed rebels or a contingent of guards fighting on his behalf.
The Kingdom of which Jesus spoke is not of this world. The Kingdom of God is still not of this world, and it never will be. We do not work to make our country or our world a Christian or Catholic world, we work to bring Jesus Christ into the world so that we can transform hearts and lead all to conversion so that they might know eternal life.
The Kingdom of God is both within us and beyond us. Yes, we want a world that is peaceful, respects life, the dignity of the human person, and proper stewardship of God’s creation. But mostly we want people to live their lives so as to bring about this kingdom. We cannot impose the Kingdom of God from above, any more than Jesus did. We bring about the kingdom as each and every day, we live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
This will often, and in some places and at all times in the world, mean that we are at odds with the world. This means persecution; this means being disregarded and even despised; this means loss of some worldly power and influence.
We carefully navigate the world, but we never compromise our faith -- Jesus Christ is the King whom we serve, and it is the Kingdom of God to which we pledge our deepest allegiance.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.
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Gospel reflection for Nov. 24, 2024, Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe
The Jewish people in the first century lived in the tension between the observance of their distinct religious traditions and navigating that within the diverse and often intolerant Roman world. Pontius Pilate, the Roman Prefect in Jerusalem during the ministry of Jesus, often stumbled trying to navigate this tension. In his interrogation of Jesus his desire to understand Jesus is clouded by the disdain of the Jewish authorities for Jesus as well as his lack of appreciation for the Jewish culture. A very similar dynamic is at work in the world today for the followers of Jesus, one that we must be conscious of as we try to evangelize the world.
The tension between our Christian and at times specifically Catholic moral and social conscience and the ever-evolving mores of contemporary society can leave us feeling out of step. The question that each one of us asks ourselves is whether we are a step ahead or a step behind.
From the time of the Alexandrian conquest of the Jewish lands in the fourth century until the present, the Jewish people found this struggle to maintain their culture and unique religious practice and belief to be at times overwhelming. They rebelled against the Seleucids and won, but it was a short-term victory. They rebelled against the Romans and were afflicted with an exile that lasted well over a millennium after the Roman Empire itself was remembered only from its past glory. Sadly, through much of the medieval and modern periods of history the Christian and specifically Catholic churches treated the Jewish people harshly and with much contempt.
When Jesus stands as a man before Pontius Pilate, the Roman is well-aware that the Jewish people were inclined to foment violence against them. Not by any means an expert in the Scriptures, he was at least made aware of the messianic hopes and expectations among the people. Messiah meant rebellion; it meant an effort to reestablish a distant kingdom, one that had not existed for some 600 years.
Could this Jesus, dragged into his residence by his fellow Jews be the Messiah? How could he? He made no stately appearance, bore no arms, and seemed more a religious threat than a political one. The Romans cared little for Jewish religious matters and granted them many freedoms to practice throughout the world.
So what was the problem with this Jesus? Who was he, and why should Pilate care?
Pilate seems to be curious about Jesus. Even in his disheveled condition, he was a formidable figure. Jesus has attracted crowds, made the Jewish officials uncomfortable, and was at least known to some of the Roman guards and residents of the city. Jesus had healed the son of a centurion, so word of this must have spread through the Roman cohort.
The focus of the conversation between Jesus and Pilate is over the assertions that Jesus is a king. Jesus was coy in answering the question, giving nod to his kingship while at the same time noting the reality that there are no armed rebels or a contingent of guards fighting on his behalf.
The Kingdom of which Jesus spoke is not of this world. The Kingdom of God is still not of this world, and it never will be. We do not work to make our country or our world a Christian or Catholic world, we work to bring Jesus Christ into the world so that we can transform hearts and lead all to conversion so that they might know eternal life.
The Kingdom of God is both within us and beyond us. Yes, we want a world that is peaceful, respects life, the dignity of the human person, and proper stewardship of God’s creation. But mostly we want people to live their lives so as to bring about this kingdom. We cannot impose the Kingdom of God from above, any more than Jesus did. We bring about the kingdom as each and every day, we live as faithful disciples of Jesus Christ.
This will often, and in some places and at all times in the world, mean that we are at odds with the world. This means persecution; this means being disregarded and even despised; this means loss of some worldly power and influence.
We carefully navigate the world, but we never compromise our faith -- Jesus Christ is the King whom we serve, and it is the Kingdom of God to which we pledge our deepest allegiance.
Father Garry Koch is pastor of St. Benedict Parish, Holmdel.